Bible numbers 31 17 18 interpretation. A

The number 31 contains the energy of three and one. Three is associated with active growth and the desire to increase; it symbolizes a free outlook on life and gives the opportunity to realize one’s potential. It is also a sign of help and support from higher powers: you can receive it at the moment when it is really needed.

The unit, in turn, is responsible for leadership qualities and allows you to move forward in your research. It is a symbol of a completely different approach to solving standard problems. The number 1 is often associated with leadership and this statement is not far from the truth.

Meaning in numerology and culture

Thirty-one fills a person with optimism and allows him to cope with impending problems. It gives you the opportunity to communicate with other people and allows you to jointly solve the most complex problems. If we add up all the components of 31, we get the simple number four. Its influence must be taken into account when describing the thirty-one.

Frequent encounters with this number are a sign of protection from higher powers. Remember that your life path is being monitored, and if necessary, you will be able to receive powerful support. Enjoy your gift and talent, create in your chosen life niche.

Your successes turn into energy that fills the Universe. Thus, each person repays his debt: higher powers give skills and talents, and in return we share our successes and conquered peaks. The number thirty-one on the path of life is a sign from above. He says that you have lost your way and turned to the dark side.

We need to correct this situation and correct the chosen direction. You can achieve your main success in matters of the light side. Significant changes in your life await you - use them wisely and with maximum benefit.

Positivity radiated by the number

One of the positive qualities granted to thirty-one is the talent to penetrate into the essence of things. Such people see their interlocutors right through. They can spot the catch in even the most well-thought-out fraudulent schemes. Number carriers will be able to achieve success in almost any field: but this is only possible if they listen to their inner voice and adhere to sound logic. As a rule, such people diligently monitor their budget and control expenses. If you have to take out a loan, it takes a short period of time to repay it.

Negative impact on character

One of the main shortcomings provoked by this number is pessimism. Its carriers are prone to feelings of disappointment and are unable to see positive aspects in life situations. To do this, you need very little - the ability to look at a situation from different angles and notice the bright sides.

An equally significant flaw emanating from thirty-one is jealousy. As a rule, it manifests itself in case of problems at work and lack of confidence in one’s abilities. All of the above shortcomings are not critical: they are easily corrected by actively working on your character.

Numbers 31:17

Therefore, kill all male children, and kill all women who have known a husband on a man’s bed;

Bible. Old and New Testaments. Sinoidal translation. Biblical encyclopedia.. arch. Nikifor. 1891.

See what “Numbers 31:17” is in other dictionaries:

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Numbers 31:1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Numbers 31:2 Avenge the Midianites for the children of Israel, and then you will go back to your people.
Numbers 31:3 And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Equip a people of yourselves for war, that they may go against the Midianites, to execute the vengeance of the Lord upon the Midianites;
Numbers 31:4 Send a thousand from each tribe, from all the tribes of Israel, to war.

The command to exterminate the Midianites is given in accordance with the law on the punishment of instigators of idolatry (Deut. XIII: 6-10) and in order to guarantee the Jews from a future dangerous neighborhood.

Numbers 31:5 And out of the thousands of Israel they were assigned, a thousand per tribe, twelve thousand armed for the war.
Numbers 31:6 And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of each tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, [the son of Aaron,] the priest, to the war, and in his hand were the sacred vessels and trumpets for alarm.

Phinehas, the son of the high priest Eleazar, is sent as the chief priest with the troops, who clearly testifies to his zeal for the glory of the name of God at the moment when the people are carried away by pagan wandering (Numbers XXV: 6–8, 10–13).

Numbers 31:7 And they went to war against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed all the males;

“And they killed all the males,” with the exception, of course, of those who escaped or were absent from the area.

In VI and VIII ch. book Judgment Among the nations that attacked the Israelites, the Midianites are also mentioned. But after Gideon “humbled” them, “the Midianites lifted up their heads no more” (Judges VIII:28).

Numbers 31:8 And with their slain they slew the kings of Midian: Ebiah, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian, and they slew Balaam the son of Beor with the sword [along with their slain];

In 21 st. Chapter XIII book Nav. Eviy, Rekem, Tzur, Hur and Reba are called “princes of Sihon,” that is, princes of King Sihon, probably due to the dominant position of Sihon the Amorite within southern Transjordan (Numbers XXI: 29).

Numbers 31:9 And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, and all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods, as spoils.
Numbers 31:10 And all their cities in their dominion, and all their villages, they burned with fire;
Numbers 31:11 And they took all the captured goods and all the spoils, from man to beast;
Numbers 31:12 And they brought the captives and the spoil and the captured things to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp, to the plains of Moab, which is by the Jordan, opposite Jericho.
Numbers 31:13 And Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the princes of the congregation went out of the camp to meet them.
Numbers 31:14 And Moses was angry with the captains of the hosts, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, who came from the war,
Numbers 31:15 And Moses said to them: [why] have you left all the women alive?
Numbers 31:16 Behold, according to the advice of Balaam, they were a reason for the children of Israel to depart from the Lord to please Peor, for What and the defeat was in the congregation of the Lord;
Numbers 31:17 Therefore kill all the male children, and kill all the women who have known a man in a man's bed;
Numbers 31:18 But keep all the female children who have not known a man's bed alive for yourselves;

Boys are seen as likely continuers of their fathers' lives. Women who “knew a husband on a man’s bed” are a constant opportunity for temptation for Jews to repeat their Shittim infatuation (Numbers XXV). Girls who were not defiled by shameful rituals in honor of Baal-Peor could be re-educated (due to the comparative gentleness of their character) among pious Jewish women and subsequently become members of the Israeli community.

Numbers 31:19 And you shall remain outside the camp seven days; Whoever kills a man and touches the murdered one, be cleansed on the third day and on the seventh day, you and your captives;
Numbers 31:20 and all garments, and all leathers, and all things made of goats wool, and cleanse all the wooden vessels.
Numbers 31:21 And Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who went to war, “This is the decree of the law which the Lord commanded Moses:
Numbers 31:22 gold, silver, copper, iron, tin and lead,
Numbers 31:23 And whatever passes through the fire, bring it through the fire, so that it may be cleansed, and in addition, it should be cleansed with cleansing water; whatever does not pass through fire, put through water;
Numbers 31:24 And wash your clothes on the seventh day, and be clean, and after that enter into the camp.

The law on the purification of those who touched a human corpse and objects that had contact with the latter is set out in Chapter XIX. Number

Numbers 31:25 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Numbers 31:26 Count the spoil of captivity, from man to beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the tribes of the congregation;
Numbers 31:27 And divide the spoil in half among those who fought and went to war, and among all the congregation;
Numbers 31:28 And from the soldiers who went to war, take tribute to the Lord, one soul out of five hundred, from people and from herds, and from donkeys, and from flocks;
Numbers 31:29 Take it from half of them and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the Lord;
Numbers 31:30 And from half the children of Israel you shall take one share out of fifty, from the people, from the herds, from the donkeys, and from the flocks, and give it to the Levites who serve at the tabernacle of the Lord.
Numbers 31:31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

The way in which the Midianite spoils were divided (in half between those who went to war and those who remained in the camp, with the convoy), subsequently received the force of an everlasting law (1 Sam. XXX:24, 25).

The soldiers who did not participate in the expedition undertook to make a contribution to the tabernacle in the amount of 1/50 of the spoils from the booty they received; those who took part - in the amount of 1/500 of the production. The first part of the spoils was to go to the use of the Levites, the second to the use of the priests.

Numbers 31:32 And the spoil that was left over from the spoil that those who were in the war took was: six hundred seventy-five thousand flocks,
Numbers 31:33 herds, seventy two thousand,
Numbers 31:34 The asses are threescore and one thousand,
Numbers 31:35 people, women, who have not known a man's bed, all souls thirty-two thousand.
Numbers 31:36 Half, the share of those who went to war, according to the calculation was: three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred small livestock,
Numbers 31:37 and the tribute to the Lord of the flocks, six hundred and seventy-five;
Numbers 31:38 The herds were thirty-six thousand, and the tribute of them to the Lord was seventy-two;
Numbers 31:39 The asses were thirty thousand five hundred, and the tribute of them to the Lord was sixty-one;
Numbers 31:40 The people are sixteen thousand, and the tribute of them to the Lord is thirty-two souls.
Numbers 31:41 And Moses gave the tribute offering to the Lord to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Numbers 31:42 And from the half of the children of Israel, which Moses separated from those who were in the war;
Numbers 31:43 half on share society was: small livestock three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred,
Numbers 31:44 herds thirty-six thousand,
Numbers 31:45 asses thirty thousand five hundred,
Numbers 31:46 sixteen thousand people.
Numbers 31:47 Of half the children of Israel Moses took one fiftieth of men and of cattle, and gave it to the Levites who served at the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Numbers 31:48 And the commanders of the thousands of troops came to Moses, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds,
Numbers 31:49 And they said to Moses, Thy servants have numbered the soldiers that were entrusted to us, and not one of them is missing;
Numbers 31:50 and Here, We brought an offering to the Lord, who took out some of the golden things: chains, wrists, rings, earrings and pendants, to cleanse our souls before the Lord.
Numbers 31:51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took from them the gold of all these articles;
Numbers 31:52 And all the gold that was offered as an offering to the Lord was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds.
Numbers 31:53 The soldiers plundered, each one for himself.
Numbers 31:54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting for a memorial of the children of Israel before the Lord.

“An offering to the Lord”, as the firstfruits of spoils and as a sign of gratitude for the successful completion of the campaign (vv. 32–46, 49). “For the purification of our souls,” defiled by murder and touching the murdered and their belongings.

Defeat of the Midianites. - The death of Valaam. – Purification of warriors and spoils. – Division of production.

Numbers 31:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Numbers 31:2. take revenge on the Midianites for the children of Israel, and then you will go back to your people.

Numbers 31:3. And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Equip a people of yourselves for war, that they may go against the Midianites, to execute the vengeance of the Lord upon the Midianites;

Numbers 31:4. Send a thousand from each tribe, from all the tribes of Israel, to war.

The command to exterminate the Midianites is given in accordance with the law on the punishment of instigators of idolatry (Deut. 13.6-10) and in order to guarantee the Jews from a future dangerous neighborhood.

Numbers 31:6. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand each from the tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, [the son of Aaron,] the priest, to the war, and in his hand were the sacred vessels and trumpets for alarm.

Numbers 31:7. And they went to war against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed all the males;

“And they killed all the males,” with the exception, of course, of those who escaped or were absent from the area.

In the book. Court. 6:1, 8 The Midianites are also mentioned among the nations that attacked the Israelites. But after Gideon “humbled” them, “the Midianites... did not raise their heads any more” (Judges 8.28).

Numbers 31:8. and together with their slain they slew the kings of Midian: Hebiah, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian, and they slew Balaam the son of Beor with the sword [along with their slain];

In the book. Joshua 13.21, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba are called “the princes of Sihon,” that is, the princes of King Sihon, probably due to the dominant position of Sihon the Amorite within the southern Transjordan (Numbers 21.29).

Numbers 31:17. Therefore, kill all male children, and kill all women who have known a husband on a man’s bed;

Numbers 31:18. and keep all the female children who have not known a man’s bed alive for yourselves;

Boys are seen as likely continuers of their fathers' lives. Women who “knew a man on a man’s bed” are a constant opportunity for temptation for the Jews to repeat their Shittim infatuation (Numbers 25). Girls who were not defiled by shameful rituals in honor of Baal-Peor could be re-educated (due to the comparative gentleness of their character) among pious Jewish women and subsequently become members of the Israeli community.

Numbers 31:19. and remain outside the camp seven days; Whoever kills a man and touches the murdered one, be cleansed on the third day and on the seventh day, you and your captives;

Numbers 31:20. and all garments, and all things made of skins, and all things made of goats wool, and cleanse all the wooden vessels.

Numbers 31:21. And Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who went to war, “This is the decree of the law that the Lord commanded Moses:

Numbers 31:22. gold, silver, copper, iron, tin and lead,

Numbers 31:23. and everything that passes through the fire, pass through the fire so that it is cleansed, and in addition, it must be cleansed with cleansing water; whatever does not pass through fire, put through water;

Numbers 31:24. and wash your clothes on the seventh day, and be clean, and after that enter into the camp.

The law on the purification of those who touched a human corpse and objects that had contact with the latter is set out in Chapter XIX.

Numbers 31:25. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Numbers 31:26. count the spoil of captivity, from man to beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the tribes of the congregation;

Numbers 31:27. and divide the spoil in half among those who fought, who went to war, and among the whole congregation;

Numbers 31:28. and from the soldiers who went to war, take tribute to the Lord, one soul out of five hundred, from people and from herds, and from donkeys and from flocks;

Numbers 31:29. take it from half of them and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the Lord;

Numbers 31:30. And from half the children of Israel you shall take one share out of fifty, from the people, from the herds, from the donkeys, and from the flocks, and give it to the Levites who serve at the tabernacle of the Lord.

Numbers 31:31. And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

The soldiers who did not participate in the expedition pledged to make a contribution to the tabernacle in the amount of 1 from the booty they received. 50 parts of the loot; those who took part - in the amount of 1 500 parts of the loot. The first part of the spoils was to go to the use of the Levites, the second to the use of the priests.

Numbers 31:48. And the commanders of the thousands of troops, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came to Moses,

Numbers 31:49. and they said to Moses, “Your servants have numbered the soldiers who were entrusted to us, and not one of them is missing;

Numbers 31:50. And Here, We brought an offering to the Lord, who took out some of the golden things: chains, wrists, rings, earrings and pendants, to cleanse our souls before the Lord.

Numbers 31:51. And Moses and Eleazar the priest took from them the gold in all these articles;

Numbers 31:52. And all the gold that was offered as an offering to the Lord was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from the captains of thousands and the rulers of hundreds.

Numbers 31:53. The soldiers robbed each for themselves.

Numbers 31:54. And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and brought it to the tabernacle of meeting for a memorial of the children of Israel before the Lord.

The entire chapter is devoted to a description of the vengeance of the God of Israel on all the Midianites who lived in the country of Moab: on the advice of Balaam and with the help of his women trained in temple prostitution, They seduced the men of Israel into the sin of fornication and tried to persuade them to idolatry (see Num.25:6,16-18; 31:16, Matt.18:7). The punishment of the adviser is also reported here: the murder of the soothsayer Balaam, who had previously failed to curse Israel at the request of Valaka, king of Moab (see Num. 31:8 and 22 and 24 chapters)

31:1,2 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 Avenge the Midianites for the children of Israel, and then you will go back to your people.
Before Moses died (went to his people), he had to take the lead in taking vengeance on the Midianites in the name of his God. This was the last commission of the God of Israel for Moses.

31:3-6 And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Equip a people of yourselves for war, that they may go against the Midianites, to execute the vengeance of the Lord upon the Midianites;
4 Send a thousand from each tribe, from all the tribes of Israel, to the war.
5 And out of the thousands of Israel, twelve thousand armed for the war were assigned, a thousand per tribe.
6 And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand each from the tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, and in his hand were the sacred vessels and trumpets for alarm.
The Midianites, who lived in the country of Moab, played a large role in seducing Israel during the ritual of worshiping Baal Peor, which for Israel was considered idolatry (Num. 25: 6,16-18). Therefore, the decision was made to go to war against the Midianites.

In this war of vengeance for the crime of the seducers (Matt. 18:7), God Himself led His army against the enemies of His people, and therefore against His enemies (opponents of God). This war, one might say, was sacred, committed not according to the arbitrariness of people, but in the justice of the Lord's decision.
Proof of this is the fact of the presence of the priest of Israel among the soldiers: only the priest had the opportunity to enter into spiritual communication with Jehovah for advice in military operations. As a sign of the priesthood, he was supposed to have in his hands objects from the tabernacle and a trumpet for timely notification of the army according to the voice of the Lord.

twelve thousand armed for war (5) Why exactly 12,000? This number has some special meaning for the God of Israel. In Rev. 7:5-8, God selects 12,000 of His spiritual “firstborn warriors.”

31:7-12 And they went to war against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed all the males;
8 And with their slain they slew the kings of Midian: Ebiah, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian, and they slew Balaam the son of Beor with the sword;
9 And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, and all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods, as spoils.
10 And all their cities in their dominion, and all their villages, they burned with fire;
11 And they took all the captured goods and all the spoils, from man to beast;
12 And they brought the captives and the spoil and the captured things to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp, to the plains of Moab, which is by the Jordan, opposite Jericho.
As a result of holy wars, led by God, most often the opponents had to be completely destroyed, a spell was placed on the cities (both the cities and their inhabitants were, as it were, dedicated as a sacrifice to the Lord, and therefore they were exterminated every single one, as the Israelites did with the cities of the Canaanite king Arad , see analysis of Numbers 21:1-3)

In the case of the Midianites, Israel decided to act differently: they destroyed only the male part of the population, and the entire female sex was taken captive, their livestock and property were taken as spoils (texts 7:9).
Together with the five kings of Midian, the soothsayer Balaam was killed: it was no coincidence that instead of his city of Pephora, he ended up among the Midianites. As we remember, he came here to give advice to the king of Moab on how to use the Midianite women to achieve the curse of Israel in another way (see analysis of Num. 24 :12,13 onwards)

31:13-16 And Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the princes of the congregation went out of the camp to meet them.
14 And Moses was angry with the captains of the hosts, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the war,
15 And Moses said to them, [why] have you left all the women alive?
16 Behold, according to the advice of Balaam, they were a reason for the children of Israel to depart from the Lord to please Peor, [for which] the defeat was in the company of the Lord;
The entire supreme leadership of Israel - Moses, the priest and his princes - met the victors. However, Moses reprimanded them for not placing a spell on all the Midianites, including women and children, for not destroying them, as should have been the case in the holy wars of the Lord. But it was women, on the advice of the soothsayer Balaam, who involved Israel in the crime of debauchery and idolatry, because of which Israel suffered, and for which, in fact, God commanded to take revenge on them.

31:17,18 Therefore, kill all male children, and kill all women who have known a husband on a man’s bed;
18 But keep all the female children who have not known a man’s bed alive for yourselves;
Moses then ordered the killing of all those who were potentially dangerous to Israel: the boys were seen as likely future warriors against Israel, continuers of the lives of their fathers. Women who “knew a husband on a man’s bed” are a constant risk of temptation for the men of Israel.
Virgin girls who did not participate in the shameful desecration of orgies in honor of the worship of Baal-peor had the opportunity to receive a different education from the Israeli women and subsequently become good workers for them or marry the Israeli who liked them (Deut. 21: 10-13).
In addition, on their own, without their men, they could not serve the continuation of the Midian family, which means they were not dangerous.

The Midianites were not among the nations on which God placed a spell, commanding that not a single soul should be left alive (Deut. 20:16), so the girls from this nation were allowed to save their lives.
Thus, the act of destroying the Midianites was done so that henceforth they could no longer incline Israel to sin.

Although it is said here about the destruction of the Midianites, in the course of further narration (for example, in the book of Judges 6:1-6), we again find a mention of the Midianites. Apparently, this clan of Midianites lived in a separate camp from the clan that seduced Israel.

31:19-20 and remain outside the camp seven days; Whoever kills a man and touches the murdered one, be cleansed on the third day and on the seventh day, you and your captives;
20 And all garments, and all leathern articles, and all things made of goats, and all wooden vessels shall you cleanse:
Due to touching the dead during battle, the warriors were “afflicted” with ritual impurity. As a result, they themselves, their captives/girls, as well as all objects from the booty that the unclean Midianites could touch, made of leather, goat hair or wood - all this required a ritual of cleansing washing (on the principle of washing with cleansing water from the ashes of the red heifers, Num. 19:11,12, Lev.15:5,6)

31:21-24 And Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who went to war, “This is the decree of the law that the Lord commanded Moses.
22 gold, silver, copper, iron, tin and lead,
23 And whatever passes through the fire, bring it through the fire, so that it can be cleansed, and in addition, it must be cleansed with cleansing water; whatever does not pass through fire, put through water;
24 And wash your clothes on the seventh day, and be clean, and after that enter into the camp.
Everything that could be passed through the fire (gold, silver, copper, iron, tin and lead) had to be thrown into the fire, and then into the purifying water, which was prepared from the ashes of the red heifer.
And anything that was flammable and could burn should only be cleaned with water.
After the warriors’ clothes were washed and the cleansing ritual of washing was performed, they had to stay outside the camp for 7 days, and on the 8th they were allowed to join the rest of the community of Israel.

31:25,26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
26 Count the spoils of captivity, from man to beast, you and Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the tribes of the congregation;
and divide the spoils in half between those who fought who went to war, and between by the whole society (compare 1 Sam. 30: 21 -24)
The principle of a fair division of spoils taken from the Midianites: like David in the future, so now, the soldiers had to share with those who remained in the rear due to the lack of demand in the Lord’s war. Since there was no merit to the soldiers in the victory and capture of the booty (they won the victory not with their own hands, but with the help of the Almighty), all the booty should have been divided fairly among all the people of the Almighty.

31:28 and from the soldiers who went to war, take tribute to the Lord, one soul out of five hundred, from people and from herds, and from donkeys and from flocks;
A text about the soul, refuting its widespread meaning as a kind of immortal substance that supposedly comes out of the body of a deceased person and continues to live after his death. When parsing texts from Genesis 1:20-25 The biblical meaning of the word “soul” was shown; it denotes several entities:

1. a living (biological) individual in general, both human and animal;
2. the whole person - Deut.12:20; Ezek.18:4,20
3. the inner essence of a person’s personality, his sensations and experiences (conscience), feelings or desires (Matt. 26:38; Exod. 15:9; Deut. 12:20; 23:24).
4. animal, which is what the text in question, Numbers 31:28, speaks about;
5. life - Matt. 16:25

A tribute of gratitude to the Lord should have been taken from the captured booty (transferred for use to the priests and Levites) - for help in the battle against the Midianites.

31:29,30 take it from half of them and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the Lord;
30 And from half the children of Israel you shall take one share out of fifty, from the people, from the herds, from the donkeys, and from the flocks, and give it to the Levites who serve at the tabernacle of the Lord.
31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.
The spoils were to be divided in half between the men who went to war and “those who remained in the camp with the baggage train” (1 Samuel 30:21-24).

The warriors who did not participate in the military campaign pledged to make a contribution to the tabernacle from the booty they received in the amount of 1/50 of the booty; those who took part - in the amount of 1/500 of the production. The first part of the spoils was to go to the use of the Levites, the second to the use of the priests.

Division of spoils
31:32-39 And there was the spoil that was left over from the captured that those who were in the war captured: six hundred seventy-five thousand flocks,
33 cattle seventy two thousand,
34 donkeys, sixty-one thousand,
35 people, women who did not know a man's bed, all souls thirty-two thousand.
36 The half, the share of those who went to war, according to the calculation was: three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred small livestock,
37 And the tribute to the Lord of the flocks was six hundred and seventy-five;
38 The herds were thirty-six thousand, and the tribute of them to the Lord was seventy-two;
39 asses thirty thousand five hundred, and the tribute of them to the Lord sixty-one;
Listing the division of trophies from soldiers who went to war (see table below, after texts 40-47)

31:40-47 sixteen thousand people, and the tribute of them to the Lord is thirty-two souls.
41 And Moses gave the tribute, the offering of the Lord, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.
42 And of the half of the children of Israel, which Moses separated from them that were in the war;
43 And half of the congregation was: three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred small livestock,
44 cattle thirty six thousand,
45 donkeys thirty thousand five hundred,
46 people sixteen thousand.
47 Of the half of the children of Israel Moses took one fiftieth of men and of cattle, and gave it to the Levites who ministered at the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.
In addition to thousands of herds of domestic animals, captives (girls who had not known a man’s bed) were also divided. The girls given to the priests and Levites, apparently, would subsequently have to do some kind of domestic work (foreigners were not allowed to do temple work)
See the table for data on the division of trophy livestock.

	Small	Large	Donkeys	Total
Total captured:	675000	72000	61000	808000
	337500	36000	30500	404000

Remaining share of warriors	336825	35928	30439	403192
	337500	36000	30500	404000
	6750			8080
The remainder of the share of the rest of the men of the people	330750	35280	29890	395920

Data on the division of the captive Midianite girls is shown in the table:

	Midian girls
Total captured	32 000
To soldiers who went to war (1/2 of everything captured)	16 000
Priests' share (1/500 warriors' share)
Remaining share of warriors	15 968
Share of the rest of the men of the people (1/2 of the total spoils)	16 000
Levites' share (1/50 of the rest of the men)
The remainder of the remaining men's share	15 680

31:48,49 And the commanders of the thousands of troops, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came to Moses,
49 And they said to Moses, “Your servants have numbered the soldiers who were entrusted to us, and not one of them is missing;
In the holy war, carried out under the supervision and protection of the Almighty, not a single soldier of Israel died, everyone remained safe. The military leaders hastened to tell Moses this good news about God's protection in the salvation of Israel.

31:50-52 and [behold], we brought an offering to the Lord, who took out some of the golden things: chains, wrists, rings, earrings and pendants, to purify our souls before the Lord.
51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took from them the gold of all these articles;
52 And all the gold that was offered as an offering to the Lord was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds.
The military leaders were so grateful to the Almighty for the miracle of salvation that they voluntarily donated to the Lord some of the captured gold jewelry “for the purification of their souls” (text 50), defiled by murder, touching the murdered and their things. The total weight of what they donated was 16,750 shekels (approximately 420 pounds or 168 kg).

31:53 The soldiers robbed each for themselves.
Ordinary warriors were not as grateful to God as their military leaders: they plundered the spoils for themselves. The moral and ethical attitudes of the common people, in comparison with the family of princes capable of leading society, left much to be desired.
That is why it is said (figuratively) that “woe to the earth if a slave is on a horse and a prince walks” (if the people are led by people who are not from a noble family, nothing good will come of it, Eccl. 10:7)

31:54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting, for a memorial of the children of Israel before the Lord.
All the gold of the military leaders, donated to God in gratitude for saving the soldiers from death, was given to the tabernacle - in memory of the children of Israel before the Lord. That is, this too, in addition to the tribute from the souls of cattle and people, was a kind of tribute of gratitude for God’s favor to the people of Israel.